The Official TSS GGG-Canelo II Prediction Page

We surveyed members of our writing community to get their thoughts on Saturday’s mega-fight between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. If this survey is any guide, the rematch is a true “pick-‘em” fight. Opinion was split with compelling cases made for each side.

The respondents are listed alphabetically. Comic book cover artist ROB AYALA, whose specialty is combat sports, provided the graphic. Check out more of Ayala’s illustrations at his web site, fight posium.

Matt Andrzejewski

The rematch will resemble the first fight with a few caveats. First, Golovkin will get off to a faster start. He knows what to expect from Canelo and will not be as bothered by his speed in the early going. Ring rust will also be a negative factor for Canelo in the early rounds. The fight will then resemble that of the first fight in the middle to late rounds with Golovkin’s pressure and punching power taking control of the action. The second caveat is the judges will get this right. Golovkin wins by wide unanimous decision.

Rick Assad

On its face, the tussle should be a dandy. A pair of future Hall of Famers in their prime with everything on the line. It should be tight and despite being an underdog I’m picking Canelo to win a split decision based on hand speed, courage and revenge.

Bernard Fernandez

For a fighter with a yen for making boxing history, setting the record for title defenses in the middleweight division figures to be a powerful aphrodisiac. It also doesn’t hurt to feel as if the opponent you hope to set the record against is a drug cheat who deserves a painful comeuppance. Toss those ingredients into the pot, along with Gennady Golovkin’s always-formidable punching power, and the call here is for GGG to score an eighth-round stoppage in what figures to be a good fight with nasty overtures.

Jeffrey Freeman

Canelo Alvarez by decision. We’ve already seen this fight. What it proved is that both boxers are very evenly matched and that a knockout is exceedingly unlikely. The rematch will look a lot like their first twelve rounds. Canelo will counterpunch from range to avoid GGG’s power. Golovkin will look to have done enough to retain his title. The judges say otherwise.

Kid Hersh

Canelo UD.  I believe that Canelo will pick up where he left off in the last fight and be able to hit Golovkin while staying elusive enough on defense to get the victory.  In addition, Golovkin is getting older and Canelo is coming into his prime.

Arne Lang

I keep flashing back to the two fights between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield. The first match was ruled a draw. It caused a big stink. Most everyone thought that Lewis was robbed. The rematch was pretty much a carbon of the first, but the judges were predisposed toward giving Lennox the close rounds to rectify the wrong – the equivalent of a “make-up call” in football – and he won a unanimous decision. Ergo, I suspect that history will repeat. It’s GGG by UD in a very close fight.

Frank Lotierzo

I don’t think GGG can improve from what he showed in the last fight, unless Canelo was really aided by PEDS then and obviously won’t be this time. I’ve always felt GGG was the stronger fighter and should win. The questions are whether he is too old now and whether he can he get the decision if he doesn’t get the stoppage. A loss ends Canelo as a star fighter and that leads me to think Canelo wins and there’s a third fight.

Kelsey McCarson

I was part of the minority of boxing fans who thought Alvarez did enough for the draw in the first fight. I thought Golovkin started off slow and Alvarez eked out the first three rounds, and I’m certain Alvarez took over the fight during the last three rounds, so to me whether you had it close for either fighter, I couldn’t disagree. Since then, Golovkin has done nothing but grow older and get angrier. I guess technically he also trucked the hapless Vanes Martirosyan but I count that as nothing. I think Golovkin will press too much for the knockout in the rematch, and Alvarez will counterpunch him to death to win at least seven or eight of the rounds. My prediction is Alvarez via unanimous decision in one heck of a good scrap.

Matt McGrain

I don’t think that Alvarez will be using performance enhancing drugs for this fight. Therefore, I think Alvarez will lose.

Sean Nam

The newfound enmity between Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin suggests that their rematch will not be short of dramatic moments. But boxing more often disappoints than fulfills its oft-gaudy expectations, and the thinking here is that the fight will end in similar fashion as the first meeting, in the judges’ hands. Stamina has never been Alvarez’s best friend, but should he refrain from holstering his offense for six rounds as he did in the first fight, the rematch will be Alvarez’s to win. He is quicker, craftier, and offensively more creative than the aging ironfisted Golovkin. But stamina is not something you can improve so simply through one camp and power is often the last thing to go away for a fighter. Golovkin by SD.

Tamas Pradarics

I believe the issue with Canelo’s positive tests as well as his brief suspension has made the rematch much bigger, and not just from a financial standpoint. It is clearly personal now for each of these two. And I believe it is Canelo who is in a better position leading up to the biggest PPV event of 2018. The Mexican is younger, fresher, and has a strong motivation to clear his name after all that happened. Also, Alvarez only gets better with age at 28, while Golovkin turned 36 in April. Though I scored the first one 116-112 for GGG, this time I think Canelo can pull off the victory in a fierce battle. My pick is Alvarez by majority decision in a fun fight.

Ted Sares

I see strong similarities to the first fight except that GGG will press earlier this time doing a better job of cutting off the ring. Canelo will do better in the mid-rounds landing the more quality shots. The fight will be decided in the last three rounds as they engage more directly with a possible firefight ensuing. I predict another draw. Two judges split and the other calls it even.

Phil Woolever

Watching the TV broadcast (which to me carries far less scoring validity than seeing a fight live), I thought the initial encounter was much closer than everyone who screamed about Golovkin getting robbed and I had no problem with the draw verdict. If Canelo uses his movement to attack, instead of retreat, he has an even better shot at the upset this time. It really comes down to who absorbed Shawn Porter’s philosophy more last weekend. To win a fight, you should actually fight. Golovkin likely received that message clearer, and it’s more likely he’ll try to prove he actually is the monster that so many people once considered him to be. He may even score a TKO, but he’s going to eat some leather before he does. My main prediction, with nothing against this weekend’s principals, is that whoever wins still isn’t in the same middleweight league as Leonard, Hagler or Hearns.

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